A/N: So this is kind of a filler chapter, ie one where they get to know what makes each other tick. After this chapter, the next few chapters should come out pretty rapidly. I have most of them down, I'm just working on polishing them up. So expect at least another chapter perhaps tomorrow!

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that feeling," Tony Bretano stated as they stepped out of the event horizon on the current Tok'ra base planet.

"Don't worry sir, this is our last stop on our Tour de Space!" Jack happily told him as he slapped him on the back and lead them away.

"Captain, what have we got?"

"I just radioed the Tok'ra, they're sending someone to meet you, sir."

"Good job! We're going to go have a chat with our friends. Watch the door for us will ya?"

The man smiled as he accepted his orders, "Yes sir."

"Who's on this planet Jack?" the President asked.

"That would be the Tok'ra."

"And who are they again?" Secretary Bretano asked.

Daniel answered this one, knowing that Jack's response wouldn't make the Secret Service agents feel any better. "The Tok'ra are symbiotes, unlike the Goa'uld who are parasites."

Teal'c offered further information, "The Tok'ra have been fighting against the Goa'uld for over two thousand years. They believe in only taking willing hosts and sharing the body in a mutually beneficial relationship… Sam's father, General Jacob Carter, became a host approximately seven years ago."

"Why?"

"He was dying of cancer… The Tok'ra offered him a second chance if he became host to Selmac. He took it."

Cathy shook her head, "I can't believe someone would relinquish control of their body… Have any other members of the SGC become hosts?"

The three men of SG-1 all shared a look with each other.

"Uh… yeah… three… sort of…" Daniel explained.

Jack and Cathy looked at one another deciding whether or not to push the, at least what seemed to be sensitive, subject. They decided not to push it any further.

They continued walking in silence for several more yards before Jack finally spoke in a distant and troubled voice. "A Lieutenant - a kid named Jason Elliot, Carter and myself."

The eyes of everyone in the President's group went wide upon hearing this revelation.

They were saved from the awkward moment when they saw their escort approaching.

"That's Malek," Daniel pointed. "Actually Malek is the Tok'ra, the host is named Shavra. Don't be alarmed if his eyes glow and he speaks in a very metallic voice."

Ding leaned over and whispered to his mentor, "Right, because we see that all the time."

"General O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Teal'c. It is good to see you again," Malek greeted them.

Daniel waved, Teal'c bowed his head, and O'Neill spoke, "Yeah long time no see!"

They all came to a stop as they stood in front of each other.

Malek addressed the crowd and spoke in the characteristic voice of the Tok'ra. "I am Malek of the Tok'ra. Welcome."

Daniel decided to perform the introductions. "Malek, this is the leader of our nation, President John Ryan, his wife…"

Once the introductions had been finished, Malek lowered his head and Shavra spoke. "And I am Malek's host, Shavra."

"How long have you been host to Malek?" Cathy Ryan asked.

"Nearly three hundred years."

Ryan whistled in shock. "Wow, that's a long time."

Shavra shrugged his shoulders, "Malek is over two thousand years old."

Not really caring about the personal details, Jack O'Neill inquired after another Tok'ra. "So where's Jake?"

Shavra looked at him quizzically, "Who?"

"Jacob… Selmak," he clarified.

Malek answered, "Selmak is currently on a mission."

"Where?"

Malek stared at him, "On a covert mission for the rest of the High Council." They continued walking towards the entrance to the Tok'ra base as Malek provided them with more information. "Selmak is one of the oldest and wisest Tok'ra. She is a senior member of the Tok'ra High Council."

"She?" Bretano asked.

Daniel answered this one understanding their confusion, "Yes, the Tok'ra are kind of asexual but they tend to have masculine or feminine personalities."

They accepted the information warily.

"And despite being on the ruling council, Selmak still goes on missions?" Ryan asked.

"Of course," he obviously replied. "Selmak's abilities and knowledge are essential for many missions."

"Kind of reminds me of another old operative I know," Ding teased.

"Any chance I can go on any missions of my own Agent Price?" Ryan asked. "If a two thousand year old can, I should be able to," he pointed out.

An hour later they had breaked for dinner.

The two races were mingling amongst each other. At one point, Cathy pulled Jack aside, "Can I talk to you?" she asked him indicating with her eyes that she'd prefer to speak in private.

"Yeah sure," he told her as he looked around for a hallway for them to head down.

When they found a private room, Jack asked her a question first, "So what do you think so far?"

"This is all so unbelievable… I'm still kind of in shock at knowing what I now know… I don't think I'll ever look at the stars the same way."

Jack nodded his head, "Yeah… Sometimes it's hard to remember to just enjoy the beauty of the night sky… You can actually see the Alpha Site's sun from Earth."

"Really?"

"Yeah it's in the constellation Auriga, it's called Rho Aurigae… It's between Gemini and Perseus, above Taurus," he explained to her.

"Still have that telescope?" she asked him remembering how much he loved that thing.

"Yeah… Carter's got a program that maps out the planets we've been to and the stars visible from Earth. We hooked it up to my telescope one night."

"What happened with you and Colonel Carter?" she asked him gently.

He looked at Cathy as he realized what she was referring to. "We were evacuating a planet that was under attack from the Goa'uld. Carter tried to resuscitate a man, a Tok'ra was hiding out in that body. When she bent down to help, the Tok'ra entered through her mouth."

"Wait, I thought they only took willing hosts?"

"Yeah…" he stated disgustingly. "She supposedly only did it because she was in danger of dying and there was an assassin after it."

Cathy proceeded cautiously, "What happened?"

"The assassin found her and almost killed Carter… Jolinar, the Tok'ra, died to save her life… The snake died within her body and left a naquada marker…"

"Her physical make-up was altered?" she asked as the doctor in her revealed itself.

"Yeah…"

"What happened when you became a host?"

"I had no other choice… I had contracted a disease that would have killed me, and the Tok'ra had a snake in need of a host… It was only supposed to be temporary and only until it could heal me…"

"What happened?"

He stared at the ground as he remembered the misadventure that Kanan had taken him on as he sought revenge against Baal. It had resulted in a long painful torturous stay at the hands of the sadistic Goa'uld.

"Nothing good," he distantly replied.

As she studied Jack she recognized the expression on his face. She'd seen it once before on his face, after his return from Iraq – when he had been a POW. Her heart went out to him, she could only guess what he had endured and the memories that probably had been revisited.

"I'm truly am sorry Jack," she told him as she came up beside him and affectionately grabbed his arm.

He looked at her and mustered his best smile, "It wasn't your fault."

She smiled back at him, "Just promise me you won't let it eat away at your soul."

Jack pondered her words. It had been almost four years since his run in with Baal. And the event hadn't consumed or changed him the way that his time in Iraq had. He wondered why and he realized that it was because of his team. Daniel, in his ascended state, had saved him by offering him hope. And afterward they had never pushed him for an explanation, they had just been there for him. Given him the space he needed while silently supporting him and giving him things to focus on. That and there was Carter in his life now.

And it wasn't that he didn't love Sarah. It was the events surrounding his captivity that had made it hard for him to move on after Iraq.

He silently laughed at the thought that occurred to him. When he had first learned of the Stargate program, he was a man without purpose. But in ten years of serving his planet alongside three remarkable people, he had been restored him to life. He once again had a soul that could be hurt. And that, he decided, was a good thing – to be alive.

"I promise."

TBC

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